In a big departure from prior US policy, the Obama administration announced it will send two high level officials to Syria this weekend to begin talks.  In what might be a sign of things to come the word of the talks came from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during a visit to Jerusalem.

In what has been one of the most complicated regions of the world, the situation on the ground in the Middle East has suddenly become somewhat simpler due in no small part to the ill conceived American invasion of Iraq.  The talk in foreign policy circles has centered in the past few yeas on the growing influence of Iran, which is now even greater since democracy was established in Iraq.  Both Iran and Iraq are majority Shiite and the two countries are now seen as growing closer together, after the fall of the Sunni regime of Saddam Hussein, and Shia Islam is being perceived as on the march and gaining power versus the traditional Sunni powers (and American allies) of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Gulf Emirates.  Syria fits into this power dynamic as a possible ally of Iran, but still a country that’s open to a good deal…which is where diplomacy steps in.  I recently sat in on a foreign policy discussion at Johns Hopkins University on the Middle East where a highly qualified former State Department official who had specialized in the Middle East, told the audience that the one possible area where we might see a breakthrough in the next few years, is a peace deal between Israel and Syria, if the conditions are right.  Such a deal could put a stop to perceptions of Iran’s growing influence - as Israel, believe it or not is a tacit, though soft spoken ally of the Sunni countries in this struggle.

You can in learning more about the Middle East by checking out the Middle East Report.

LINKS:

NY Times: Syria Talks Signal New Direction for U.S.

LA Times: US to send envoys to Syria

CNN: Clinton: 2 U.S. officials to visit Syria